Put them in mind to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient to rule, to be ready to do every good work,
Paul's closing instructions to Titus move to life under the rulers of Crete. They begin with a reminder, not with new teaching. What does subjection to rulers cover? Where does it stop? And why is readiness for good work joined to it?
Paul does not tell Titus to teach this from scratch. He tells him to keep bringing it back to mind. The reason lies in who these believers were, and in how easily people separate obedience inside the church from obedience in the world.
Now the apostle charges Titus, himself a Greek, to lay similar instructions again and again on the Cretan believers, whose countrymen were known for insubordination and other vices too. Such an exhortation was never needed more than now. The lawlessness of the age grows so fast that it shocks every right-minded person. Lawlessness in the world is no less blatant than a similar spirit in the church... But it is quite possible for people to hold a rigid theory of obedience inside the church and to trample underfoot and deny a similar responsibility in the world.
The motive is not that a government is competent or kind. Authority itself comes from God. So neither the form of government nor the character of the ruler changes the believer's duty.
Scripture is plain and decided: it is not enough to submit because of wrath; we submit for conscience. God is concerned in our subjection, for there is no authority except from God... whether monarchy, republic, or any mixture of the two, they are ordained by God... God ordered it in His providence that one of the cruellest tyrants was on the throne when the apostle wrote to the saints at Rome. Even so: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities." The worst ruler is better than anarchy. Still, the word of God does not speak from this reason of usefulness.
Some older translations read this phrase as "to obey magistrates." Read that way, it merely repeats the clause before it — and a separate instruction is lost.
Titus was to remind them to be obedient in a general way. There is no good reason to translate it "to obey magistrates," as the King James Version does. That only loses an exhortation by making it repeat the clause before. Do people plead the rights of man? The true place of the saint is "to obey." But obedience always, and everywhere, is the duty of the saint. If he is not sure of the will of God, he ought to wait until he learns it.
Subjection is not unlimited. The believer does not weigh whether a ruler deserves obedience, but one demand can turn obedience into disobedience to God.
Obedience to the powers that be is the plain direction of the word of God for His people (Rom. 13:1; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-17). It is not for us to raise questions about how the authority was set up, or about the character of the one holding it. Our part is to obey. But the will of man sometimes clashes with the word of God and tries to force that will on our consciences. Then we must obey God rather than man (Acts 4:19).
Subjection is not the whole of it. The verse moves to something active, and Christ's own life sets the standard.
The saint is called not only to be a righteous man in practice, but a good man. So our Lord here below went about doing good. If we cannot, like Him, heal those who were oppressed by the devil, we are still exhorted here to be ready for every good work. Where people hold and confess the truth and are also active in doing good, that is a real and effective testimony to Christ.
This attitude does not shift with circumstances. Each line answers a different provocation.
As strangers in this world, it is no part of our responsibility to interfere with its government. Whatever the character of the worldly powers, our place is to be subject and obedient to rule. Whatever evil may mark their works, our place is to be ready for every good work. Whatever the character of the rulers themselves, we are not to speak evil of anyone. Whatever violence or injustice we may meet, our place is to act in a spirit of gentleness and meekness. That spirit refuses to insist on our rights.
Verse 1 speaks about others. Two verses later Paul changes pronoun, and the shift is deliberate.
Obedience and subjection to authorities, and gentleness and meekness to all people, are features very much the opposite of everything the Cretans were by nature. They are also very much the opposite of what we all are, and the apostle puts this on record in verse 3. "We ourselves," he says — in contrast with the "them" of verse 1.
- Remind — this is not advanced teaching. It is a truth believers drift from: strict about order in the church, lawless in the world.
- Because God — we submit for conscience, not just to avoid punishment. Authority comes from God, whatever its form and whoever holds it.
- Obey, generally — "to be obedient" is its own command. It calls for a settled spirit of obedience, not just for obeying magistrates.
- Until God — we do not judge whether a ruler deserves obedience. But when a command clashes with God's word, we obey God rather than man.
- Then good — subjection is only half of it. The Christian is to be not only righteous but good, ready for every good work. That is what makes the testimony to Christ real.
to speak evil of no one, not to be contentious, [to be] mild, shewing all meekness towards all men.
Paul tells Titus to keep reminding believers how to live in public. The orders are short and blunt: no slander, no quarrelling, gentleness, courtesy to everyone. Where does an ordinary person find the power to live like that?
These orders are about life outside the church. One writer warns against demanding order in one place while ignoring it in the other.
Lawlessness in the world is just as blatant as the same spirit in the church. No doubt it is especially hateful in the temple of God, where the Holy Spirit lives. But people can hold a strict theory of obedience inside the church and still trample on and deny the same duty out in the world. God has not taught them this. It may be even more common to insist on obedience to the world's authority and to deny it in the church, on the excuse that the church is in ruins. God's word condemns all such self-will.
The same writer knows how hard this command is, and he separates evil speaking from speaking for God.
This is not easy in a world full of evil, where much of that evil hits God's children in both word and deed. But God's word to us is plain: "speak evil of no one." There may be a duty to testify for a godly purpose. Let us make sure that is the only reason anyone can accuse us of speaking against another. No part of Scripture rebukes wrong more sharply than this letter, when wrong calls for it. That is not evil speaking; it is of God and for God.
The rule has no exceptions, and what separates honest correction from slander is the aim behind the words.
We are firmly told to "speak evil of no one": in no case is it right. Even when evil has to be exposed, we must do it with a real desire for the guilty person's recovery and blessing, not in a spirit of condemnation. There is to be no quarrelsome attitude, but gentleness, and "perfect courtesy toward all people." This does not mean giving in to evil, but it is not self-defence either.
The Greek word behind "gentle" resists any single English translation.
epieikes comes from epi and eiko, meaning to yield. It is the word rendered "gentle" here in Titus 3:2, and it is paired with amachos, "not a brawler" or "not given to fighting." No single English word carries it. It means fairness as against the strict letter of the law — a readiness to give up all harshness and severity, even where the law would rightly back you. It is the opposite of standing on your rights: "mild," "gentle."
A yielding spirit also decides how peaceful your own life is.
In our dealings with everyone we are to show a gentle, yielding spirit. If I am always standing on my dignity and my rights, I will be upset again and again. But if I show everyone the grace and gentleness of Him who had a right to everything and claimed nothing, I will walk through this world in the same calm that marked Him.
Christ Himself shows that firmness about wrong and tenderness toward people belong together.
Here again Christ has left us an example, that we should follow in His steps. No one exposed hypocrisy and self-righteousness more sharply. Yet no one was so tender and considerate toward those who wronged Him most. He was gentle and humble in heart, and He calls His own to take His yoke on them and learn from Him. That is the way to find rest for their souls, in a world where so much upsets and grieves us.
Grace does not just restrain this behaviour; it removes what drives it.
In how Christians behave toward the world, grace has driven out violence. It has driven out the spirit of rebellion and resistance that stirs up the heart of those who do not believe. That spirit comes from the self-will which fights to hold on to its own rights against others.
And the memory of what we once were keeps the gentleness honest.
For we are reminded that we too were once in the condition that now we dislike in others. This should both humble us, and give us a spirit of patient consideration towards them… In us, nothing could change this but the grace of God in Christ: others too need the same grace if their condition is to be any different.
- Grace banishes — violence, rebellion and self-defence all come from self-will insisting on its own rights. Grace pulls them out at the root.
- Grace silences — "speak evil of no one" has no exceptions. Honest rebuke for God's sake is not slander.
- Grace yields — "gentle" means giving up strictness even where the law would back you. It is the opposite of standing on your rights.
- Grace reaches — past fellow believers to everyone: rulers, strangers, even those who wrong you.
- Grace remembers — we were once what we now dislike in others. Only grace made the difference, and they need that same grace.